More than one in 10 shops in the UK's town centres were empty in October as retailers suffered from stagnating sales and rising costs, and the outlook is likely to get worse, according to the British Retail Consortium.

Its latest survey showed a national vacancy rate in high streets and shopping centres of 11.3%, up 0.4 percentage points on the previous month and the highest since the BRC and information group Springboard began compiling data in July 2011. Northern Ireland, Wales and the north recorded the highest vacancy rates.

Stephen Robertson, the BRC's director general, said: "This new high in empty shop numbers really sets alarm bells ringing. It confirms the financial challenges for both customers and retailers are far from over. Next year's threatened business rates increase [of 2.6% in April] can only make matters worse.

"If the government wants to breathe life back into our town centres and ensure the retail industry can play its full role in job creation, it needs to freeze rates in 2013."

In the shorter term, the runup to Christmas is likely to see a number of temporary shops opened, which could have a positive effect on the vacancy figures. Landlords may also become more flexible in an attempt to fill empty shops in their centres.

John Lewis for one is already benefiting from the forthcoming festive season. Its department stores saw a 7.6% year-on-year rise in sales last week to £91.7m. Parents were already snapping up toys such as the Furby – a revival of the 1990s craze – while tablets help lift electrical and home technology sales by 22%. Online sales continued to boom, up 31% compared with the same time last year.

Elsewhere, a survey by Rightmove showed that house sellers dropped their asking prices by 2.6% in November. But this was the least severe fall in November for three years, while prices rose 2% year on year. Excluding London, prices rose just 0.2% year on year. Rightmove said positive signs in the market included an 11% increase in inquiries on the same time last year, while mortgage approvals had climbed 9.2% in the most recent quarter.

David Miles, a member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, said the bank still had the firepower to boost a sluggish economy. He told Sky News on Sunday: "There is the scope for more quantitative easing … it remains a powerful weapon."

Miles said he expected that the positive effects of the bank's actions would become evident. He is a strong supporter of QE, and the bank will reveal the reasons for not immediately increasing the asset purchase programme when its latest minutes are released on Wednesday.